Swing Shift
by Fluffy's Lady
Summary: A series of sometimes-related InuYashaxNaruto crossovers. Pairings and genres vary. Chapter 4: Addiction: She was like his cigarettes, too damn addicting to put down.
1. A Fox, Huh?

This is intended to be a series of InuNaru crossover drabbles. Some will be related, some not. I'm not guaranteeing speedy or lengthy updates. Just updates in general. Lol

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><p>A Fox, Huh?<p>

Aiko trotted through the slum-sided of Konoha. She bored easily when her mother kept her cooped up in their house. It didn't matter that it was large, well hidden and had lots of woods to play in, it all became boring after a while. The large, grey dog sidestepped a puddle, nose to the ground as she sniffed all the semi-interesting scents that came her way. Her head came up, ears alert and tail high as she caught a scent that she hadn't smelled in a long time.

_What's a fox doing in the middle of Konoha's slums?_ the inuyoukai thought. Further inspection of the new scent only served to confuse her even more. _And why is it hanging around a human kid?_ With a huff, she darted off, following the scent to its source. What she found amazed her. The human kid that carried the fox scent couldn't have been more than about six years old. He was digging through a garbage can, searching for something to eat. Her ears tipped forward again when she heard his stomach rumble in discontent.

The young female stepped forward, her delicate, black nose quivering as she took in everything. The scent of blood—fresh and old—wafted off the child. She could see his clothing in tatters and scratches, bruises and even a deep gash or two littered his skin. She knew her mother would be pissed if she could see the little boy. The dog froze when the little boy turned around, wide blue eyes set off by whisker marks and blonde hair staring at her from a cute face.

The boy didn't scream, but he didn't make any sort of move either. Aiko knew she must look fearsome to him. To the average adult, she stood with her head even with their chest. To the little boy, she towered over him. She crouched down, letting her belly touch the ground and grimacing in her mind slightly when she felt the slimy streets coat her fur in muck. A soft whine issued from her throat and she wagged her tail invitingly. Her mother would take care of the boy, since no one else obviously did. Plus, it would give her something to do around the house.

"Naruto." The inuyoukai blinked when the little boy spoke. "My name's Naruto." The dog opened her jaw and let her tongue fall out in a friendly hassle—her way of smiling in this limited form. The little boy giggled and she crept forward, sniffing the proffered hand.

_Cute kid, although he seems to be undernourished._ Aiko stood just a little and ducked her head between the child's legs. Slowly, she lifted up, letting him slide down and settle against her shoulders. He giggled and fisted his grubby hands in her fur and she winced. _Great, more sludge to wash out._ With a huff, she stood and began to make her way back home. She wove through the streets of her hometown, avoiding the main streets and keeping away from too many humans. Unfortunately, the female and her human charge ran into a group of snot-nosed boys that thought they were tough.

"Oi, kid, I thought we told you to get lost?" one of the boys sneered. The others, they couldn't have been more than thirteen, fanned out around them. Aiko cursed in her head.

_Stupid humans! _She snarled, whirling to snap at a foolish boy who got too close. _Shit! I can't keep them off and protect the kid at the same time like this._ She backed them into a corner before letting the kid off her shoulders.

"Haha," another boy jeered. "Even your stupid mutt knows to leave when it has the chance!"

_Oh no you didn't! _Aiko's eye twitched as she put the little boy behind her. A flood of her yoki created a whirlwind and, before the eyes of the humans who had just insulted her and her heritage, her form began to shift. She may not know her father personally, but the stories her mother often told her let her know he was an honorable yoki lord. Her body grew taller, leaner and she stood on two feet. Her front legs turned into human arms and hands, with fingers that were tipped with lethal-looking claws. Her muzzle retracted into a pretty face with a single maroon stripe on each cheek. Golden eyes gleamed from beneath dark brows and silvery bangs. With a huff, she shook herself from head to toe, all dog-hair disappearing.

The boys just gaped at the teenage girl before them. She was _gorgeous_ but, somehow, scary. She smiled and fangs glinted in the fading afternoon light. The boys backed away and, when she took a step forward and snarled at them, turned and ran as if their lives depended on it. And in some ways, it did.

Aiko turned and knelt down to Naruto's level, hand outstretched and a soft smile on her face. "It's okay, Naruto-kun. I'm not going to hurt you."

Naruto stood with wide, blue eyes, staring intently at the person before him. Hadn't she just been his new doggy friend? But then, how had she become the girl standing in front of him. He wasn't too sure of her. All the other people in the town—except Iruka-sensei—didn't like him. They'd yell at him, throw things at him and beat him up. But…this girl had run off the boys who had hurt him. He took a step forward and slowly put his little hand in her larger one.

The young woman grinned, scooping up the little boy into her arms. He was so light for what a kid his age should be and she frowned again. She quickly reversed the facial expression, though, when she noticed Naruto shying away. Her mouth tilted back up into grin and she dipped her forehead to connect with his.

"My name is Aiko." She chuckled when the boy's eyes lit up. "Do you have a home?" She rolled her citrine eyes when he shook his head. "Well you do now. My mom and I will take care of you."

"Who's your mom?" the little boy asked as Aiko straightened and once again headed back home.

"Her name's Kagome and she's real pretty." She winked down at the boy.

"Ka-go-me," he sounded out and his new guardian laughed. He sounded like her mom when someone called her something other than her name. "Can she transform like you?"

The inuyoukai female shook her head. "Nope, she's human." She checked the wider street for any signs of life before heading down it for a few blocks. When someone turned onto their street and sent the little boy a glare, she glared back full force. The human blinked and cowered, slinking off about his business without bothering them again.

"Then how come you can transform?" the little boy asked, genuine curiosity filling his eyes. He bounced on her hip, eager to hear more.

Aiko pursed her lips, wondering just how much she could say to the little boy without him asking questions that were better left for an adult to answer. "You know what youkai are, right?" At his nod she continued. "My daddy and I are both pure inuyoukai. When an inuyoukai, ah, takes a mate—" She blushed a little at his questioning look. "—actually mates them, they're children are always inuyoukai. Momma says Daddy was a very proud male. He loved Momma very much."

"What happened?" the little boy prompted. He rested his head on the girl's shoulder, content to listen for now.

"Before I was born, Momma was headed home but somehow got sent here." Aiko shrugged a bit indifferently. "I came along a few months after Momma arrived so I never knew my dad but mom's working on a way to get us back." She glanced up past the buildings, to the clear blue sky above them. _But I dunno know if I want to go there. If it's not like here—forests everywhere outside of hidden villages—then I don't want to._ The young female couldn't explain it, but there was a _connection_ to the nature around her.

When no comment came from the peanut gallery on her hip, the sixteen year old female looked down and chuckled. The little boy was sound asleep. _Probably exhaustion from too much excitement and too little energy._ She planted a quick kiss on the child's dirty forehead. _Mine. My little brother. _Youkai were possessive by nature, inu among the most. The moment Aiko laid eyes on the scrawny, dirty little boy, she had claimed him as part of her pack.

The pair made it the rest of the way home with no more incidents—aside from several mean glares and vicious growls directed to sneering passersby—and Aiko's mother ran out to greet her. The woman didn't look much older than her daughter and most people would have pegged her as being in her early twenties. Kagome could thank the Jewel for that. After the final battle against Naraku, it had reformed inside her body, keeping her eternally young as a requirement for guarding it. Her long black hair shone with natural, deep blue highlights in the sun. The mother's concerned, cerulean eyes focused first on her daughter, then the child in her arms.

"Aiko?" Kagome questioned when her daughter stepped onto veranda. "Who is this?"

Her daughter smiled with puppy eyes up to her mother, although she had a feeling that wouldn't be necessary. "Momma, this is Naruto. I was thinking he could stay with us for a while."

The former priestess blinked and frowned, placing a hand on the little boy's forehead before peeling open a dirty eyelid. "He's not sick so why did you bring him? I'm sure his parents are worried."

Aiko shook her head. "I don't think he has any parents. I found him wondering around in the slums. And look at him! He's so skinny and dirty and covered in scratches and bruises! I don't think anyone's been taking care of him." She let out a little whine and nuzzled the boy's head.

Kagome sighed and buried her face in her hands. "Fine," she grumbled, cursing the nurturing instincts of her mate's species, although it wasn't like she didn't have any of her own. She called over to one of the shinobi that had been hired to guard their home. The man appeared in a puff of smoke before her and took a knee, ready to serve. "Do you know who this boy is? Or where his parents are?"

The shinobi looked up, about to answer his current employer's question when his brown eyes widened. The horizontal scar across his face tipped up just a bit with his soft smile. "Yes, Kagome-san. His name is Naruto. He's the hero of the village."

Both Kagome and her daughter gave the man an askance look at his statement. "Somehow I doubt that because everyone I passed on the way back looked like they were about ready to tear him to pieces," Aiko snipped in reply.

"And if he were the hero of the village, why would he be running the streets alone and covered in muck?" Kagome asked. She was beginning to like the beautiful village they had spent the last sixteen years in. How could anyone treat an innocent child so poorly?

"Let me explain." Iruka stood to his feet, his hand fondly rubbing the little boy's head. "He is the hero of our village, although most people don't see him that way. His father was our Yondaime. Naruto is his son. The day Naruto was born the Kyuubi was attacking our village. The shinobi had tried and failed countless times to bring him down but were unsuccessful. Finally, Minato-sama found a way to seal the beast. But he had to give up his own life to do so." A heavy silence reigned for a moment as the group just watched the little boy in Aiko's arms. "Naruto was the baby that the Kyuubi no Youko no Kitsune was sealed in. I am sure Minato-sama meant for the boy to be a hero, but people only see the demon within the child."

Kagome blinked and smiled tenderly at the little boy. "A fox, huh?" She traced the seal hidden beneath the boy's clothing. "They aren't so bad. I wonder who ticked him off." The young woman ignored the looks she was receiving from Iruka and her daughter. Iruka didn't know her real past and Aiko had yet to hear Shippou's story. "How can I say no to such a face?" She chuckled and her eyes burned a little bit as memories flowed her in mind. She could already see the little blonde boy stuffing pocky in his face, going through her things in search of a toy, teasing his idol relentlessly and generally annoying all of them to no end with pranks, schemes and other childish ways.

Aiko handed the child over to her mother and watched as the priestess healed the bruises and cuts, taking extra care to clean out any lingering infection in the two deep gashes. Kagome hummed an old song under her breath as she took the little boy into the house to clean him up and put him in fresh clothes.

Iruka smiled, relieved that Naruto was going to be taken care of now. He had tried a few times before to get the little boy to come home with him but the child would always disappear whenever the chuunin was assigned a mission. Now, however, he knew the Higurashis would make sure the boy was properly clothed, fed and spoiled. With the look on Kagome-san's face as she left, he knew that last one was a definite possibility. Turning, he bowed deeply to a shocked Aiko.

"Thank you very much, Aiko-san. I am indebted to you for finding him."

Aiko just nodded. "Uh, yeah, it's not a big deal…" She edged around the shinobi and chased after her mother into the house.

Iruka chuckled. He could relax because Naruto was finally home.

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><p>And there you have it! The first chapter. Let me know what you think! :D<p> 


	2. Home Again, Home Again

Oh, right, disclaimer! I do not own or make any profit from Naruto or InuYasha or their respective characters. They are merely outlets for my over-creative mind. All credit goes to their respective creators.

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

Home Again, Home Again: With Sasuke long-gone, everyone knew the Uchiha compound was empty. Or was it?

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><p>Kagome laughed as she hugged her mother goodbye. "Don't worry so much, Mama! InuYasha's an <em>inu<em>youkai. He'll eat anything."

Kun-loon smiled in return. "Still, I know his favorite flavor of ramen is beef but the store only had herb-garden and chicken. Just let him know we did try, alright? And don't forget I packed a bag of his second-favorite snacks in the outside pocket."

"Mama!" the younger Higurashi lamented teasingly. "You spoil him more than me!"

Her mother just smiled and waved as her daughter disappeared into the well, the normal blue light glowing comfortably. She didn't see what happened, though, when she turned and walked back to her home.

Kagome thought she was just about to land in the Feudal Era when her world suddenly began to shift. Literally. She no longer felt like she was floating through the comfortable space-in-between-spaces. Instead, she now felt herself plummeting head first towards the very faint light at the far end. The color shifted from the normally soothing blue to a vibrant, angry red. A foreign energy—not unlike yoki and rekkai—surrounded her and she felt herself being smothered. It became increasingly hard to breathe. The air was thick and heavy and the priestess-in-training found it difficult to move her body.

Suddenly, it all ended and she was dropped roughly into the bottom of the well. She just lay sprawled in the dirt a moment, panting and trying to regain her sense of direction. Shakily, the young woman gathered her nerve and wits, pushing herself up onto her hands and knees. That took a lot of effort and she took several deep breaths before standing to her feet. The world spun around her and she leaned against the dirt-and-stone walls of the old structure.

When everything was steady, she straightened herself and took a look around. As her blue eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, she flinched and was glad that she had landed where she had. Anywhere else and she might have impaled herself on some rather pointy-looking objects. She was never well-versed in the art of fighting but she knew a knife when she saw one. And there were plenty of them in the old well. As well as plenty of things that looked like killer frisbees, scrolls with faded and cracked parchment, spears and what looked like a bone or two. Kagome shuddered and hoped they weren't human.

"How do I get out of here?" she murmured to herself. The trusty vines that traveled down the well in the Feudal Era weren't there and the rope ladder had frayed in two and swung precariously by an unfelt breeze. "Guess I don't have a choice…"

The young woman put her hands on an upper rung before testing out a bottom one with a foot. When it held despite all its creaking, she brought her other foot up to the second rung and slowly began to climb. It was very awkward considering one side of the ladder had completely separated into two portions, leaving it hanging by only one side. She made the best of it, though, continuously aiming for the part that wasn't frayed. As her hand reached the rung a foot or two below the top of the well and just above the split in the rope, the ladder snapped completely. The other half finally gave under her weight and the old rope tore away.

Kagome screamed as she was left to swing, hanging by one hand from the rung. Her body thumped hard against the side of the well, knocking the air out of her completely. Her blue eyes narrowed and she grunted when she swung her other arm up, desperately trying to get some purchase. The heavy yellow backpack she always carried severely hampered her movements but she wasn't going to let it go. Who knew what lay beyond the top of this well? There could be nothing at all and she would need food to survive.

Her hand caught the rung and her fingers immediately curled around it, nails digging into the rope. With a lot of effort, she managed to climb the last foot and a half of ladder before hauling herself onto the top of the well. She draped over the ledge, lower half still kicking in the cool depths, upper half now basking in the warm sun. Her backpack did the rest of the work for her, tipping over her head and dragging her the rest of the way out of the well. The young woman squeaked as she tumbled out, wincing when she heard the fabric of her skirt rip.

_Great! As if it wasn't short enough now it's a micro-mini!_ she lamented in her head. Standing up, the priestess looked down and, sure enough, there was a large rip across the front of her skirt ending maybe a few scant inches below her crotch. Her face turned beet red and she quickly looked around to make sure no one saw. The sight that greeted her, though, was startling.

While there were plenty of houses all around that were still mostly intact, there were no people. The windows that weren't broken were boarded over. Time had succeeded in shifting the foundations of many houses and doors hung open like a gaping wound into the semi-furnished buildings. The whole town, Kagome discovered as she walked through, was covered in a fine layer of dust—the kind that came from disuse. Wooden planks, dieing and rotted, sported huge holes that almost looked like hungry mouths silently crying for paint.

The young woman shivered. The place was creepy. She yelped as she tripped across a fine wire and screamed when a blast of fire came her way. With milliseconds to spare, she ducked and hit the ground. The giant fireball grazed the top of her back, furthering ruining her already torn clothes. She moaned when she stood back up, the accompanying genjutsu lost on her. Foolishly, the young priestess continued forward, setting off silent alarms for non-existent residents.

Hundreds of miles away, in a well-hidden cave protected with layers upon layers of genjutsus and other traps, a single missing-nin lay. His chest heaved with the task of simply catching his breath and his eyes ached from the use of his kekkei-genkai. With a stifled groan, he managed to stand. The world around him spun and the young man staggered against the wall, desperately trying to stay up. After several minutes, his low chakra levels—the cause of the temporary-illness—began to build back up again.

Itachi knew he was overdoing it when he began obliterating an annoying group of Oto-nin. He already had low chakra levels due to killing a few hunter-nin that had been relentlessly tailing him for the past several days. At first, he had been patient enough to simply out-wit them. However, when they proved to be almost a match for the much hailed prodigy, he began to get annoyed. While they wouldn't have been a match for him on a normal basis, there were extenuating circumstances that had left him tired and rather short-tempered. So, when they refused to give up after a week, he let them catch up to him and began to systematically kill them off—one by one.

The fight left him feeling more tired than he had been and in a rather blood-thirsty temperament. So when he came across the group of ninja—whose "leader" he despised with a passion—he realized he had found the perfect outlet for his aggression. He obliterated them with little finesse before retreating to his hidden cave. He collapsed and lay there for a while, secure with the knowledge he would not be disturbed. Maybe an hour or so later, he was jolted from his rest when some of his alarms went off. The prodigy knew immediately they weren't for his cave. Instead, they were coming from his old village.

His eyes narrowed. Why would anyone go there? No one from Konoha went near those gates and a simple animal wouldn't set off his traps. He didn't care how little chakra he had left, _no one _entered his home and got away with it. As much as he hated his clan in the end, there were still good memories in that old cluster of houses. The missing-nin's hands flew through the seals needed to perform the teleportation jutsu. With a poof of smoke, he was gone, reappearing almost instantly in front of a now very startled young woman.

Itachi's vision swam again and he swore under his breath. The girl wasn't a threat and now he had used up almost all of the little remaining chakra he had left. With a hitch in his breathing, his knees buckled from under him and he collapsed. The last thing he saw before darkness consumed him was a pair of legs dropping down in front of him and concerned blue eyes staring back at him. _Home again. _Then, nothing.

Kagome cursed herself repeatedly. She was in some nowhere-ghost-town in a completely different place than she had expected to end up. The priestess tripped over another wire and squealed as she lost her balance and plummeted to the ground. Some little voice in the back of her head told her she was damn lucky because more of those sharp knives and killer-frisbees came flying at her.

"Where the hell am I?" she cried in frustration. Once the weapons assault was over—for now—she got back up on her feet. She was nothing if not resilient…ish. Just as she was about to take another step, a startled scream erupted from her throat when a young man in strange clothing just _poofed_ in front of her.

He stared at her for a minute, as if debating the necessity of acknowledging her, before promptly collapsing in a crumpled heap. Before he had even hit the ground, she was right there beside him, rolling him over and trying to see if he was alright. She unzipped his cloak, pressing her ear to his chest and sighing in relief to hear a steady heartbeat. His breathing, though, worried her. It was labored, and while that wasn't all that bad, it sounded almost…wheezy or watery.

Kagome chewed on her bottom lip before making a decision. She wasn't the greatest with her spiritual powers—she would never be as good as Kaede—but she was a good priestess. She'd worked long and hard at developing some amount of control. InuYasha always healed quick enough not to worry her, but Miroku and Sango were only human and often took more than their fare share of damage trying to protect her. So, she decided to return the favor by learning to heal them. Now, she would put this knowledge to use on a complete stranger.

Despite the "stranger-danger" drills pounded into her head in elementary school, she had a feeling this man wasn't all _that_ bad. So, she rested both hands just above his chest, closed her eyes, relaxed and pulled at a small thread of her rekkai. She pushed the spiritual energy into the young man's chest, "feeling" what he already knew was there. A terrible disease had begun to eat away at his lungs—leaving him shorter of breath than he should have been. Without a second thought, she began to purge the illness, clearing out all the dark, foreign bodies that were slowly choking him. When she was done, she was exhausted but checked him for signs of any other illness or disease. While in good health overall, the young priestess could tell that those red eyes with spinning pinwheels that had greeted her when he arrived were slowly losing their vision.

_I'll deal with that later,_ she thought before promptly collapsing onto the chest beneath her.

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><p>Okay, that's it for chapter two! –insert evil chuckle here- Let me know what you think! Also, don't expect speedy updates like this from now on. Thank r0o for that! She bribed me with r0ocookies! –noms cookies- Basically look forward to this around once a week...maybe? I'm trying to get on an update schedule for <em>something<em> but I'm moving in two weeks and classes start a weekish after that. So no promises!

And just because I love my new-found-fans, I'll give you a sneak preview of the next chapter which I'm already working on!

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><p><em>"Aaaiiieee!" Naruto yelled, one finger shakily pointing at the pair. "Kakashi-sensei pulled down his mask but we still didn't see his face!"<em>

_"Dobe," Sasuke muttered, striking the blonde on the back of the head. "Kakashi-sensei kisses a strange woman and all you think about is his mask? Typical." He scoffed at the once-more-growling jinchuuriki._


	3. Copy Cat

Oh, right, disclaimer! I do not own or make any profit from Naruto or InuYasha or their respective characters. They are merely outlets for my over-creative mind. All credit goes to their respective creators.

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

Copy Cat: Her arrival was only the beginning...

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><p>Hatake Kakashi just sighed as his squad of genin bickered amongst themselves. Sasuke and Naruto were ready to come to blows over something petty—it always was—and Sakura was flitting between the pair, worrying like an old nag.<p>

"Naruto!" she whined, and Kakashi rolled his visible eye. "Leave Sasuke-kun alone!" Said jinchuuriki just continued to growl at his teammate and his teammate growled back.

_Stubborn mules,_ Kakashi thought as he once more began to read his book, _both of them._ He let the pair continue to argue, after all, they hadn't noticed him so he still had a few more minutes before he was late. While he told them two-o'clock, he wasn't planning on "arriving" until two-fifteen. He had fifteen minutes to spare and he intended to catch up on his reading.

Two groans of pain, accompanied by a heavy thump, and followed by a squeal of outrage, had him looking up with mild interest. Did one of his foolish students actually manage to land a decent hit on the other? From the squeal Sakura had given, it sounded like Naruto had managed to wound at least the Uchiha boy's pride. What actually greeted his eyes, though, surprised him more than if Itachi and all the other missing-nin had turned themselves in and begged for mercy.

Laughing blue eyes set in a smirking face filled his vision. "Kakashi-kun!" the young woman chided in a lilting voice. "What are you teaching these three?"

"What are you talking about, Lady?" barked an irritated Naruto. "Kakashi-sensei isn't here yet! He's always late!"

The woman just chuckled and winked at the boy. "If you asked nicely, I'm sure Kyuubi-kun would tell you where he is."

The genin-trio blinked and Sakura and Sasuke stared at Naruto as if he'd sprouted a second head. Naturo, however, stared at the dark-haired woman as if she'd grown five heads.

Kakashi basked in the temporary silence before dropping out of the tree and standing beside his old friend. The genin gawked at him as well. So he really had been there!

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura's annoying voice nearly made him twitch. The woman visibly winced. "If you were there the whole time how come you didn't stop this woman from smashing Naruto's and Sasuke-kun's heads together?"

The Copy-Cat Ninja just sighed. Sometimes he wondered why he chose to lead this particular squad. The moody Uchiha, the loud-mouthed Naruto and the whiney, fainting-prone Sakura. Oh yes, they were destined for great things. Note the sarcasm. His friend seemed to read his mind and chuckled.

"Kakashi-kun, don't you think you should introduce me?" she asked, leaning against him when he circled an arm around her slim waist. Her dark hair fell in waves over her shoulder, glinting blue in the afternoon sun. The slight breeze that blew across the training ground picked up and played with the short skirt but not budging the tight midriff top the woman was wearing. Sakura eyed the heeled kunoichi boots with envy. Those must have cost a fortune and the blue-eyed intruder was wearing them like it was nothing!

"Ah, Kagome, you know I was never very good at sharing your attention." He grinned underneath his mask, ignoring the way his students stared. _Let them stare,_ he thought. _Let them learn from one of the best kunoichi around._

The priestess laughed outright at his words. "I think that's the understatement of the century! You and those nin-dogs of yours terrorized every male that smiled at me." She rolled her eyes, pressing a little more weight against Kakashi's side.

The silver haired ninja chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Young love," he chalked it up to.

"Or, as Gai often said, 'Flames of Youth'." Kagome pivoted slightly, putting Kakashi's back to his students before pulling down his mask just enough to kiss him silly. He returned the gesture whole-heartedly, more than happy to have his attention diverted from Team Seven. When they finally broke apart, he pulled up his mask and winked to his one-time fiancé.

"So, does this mean the wedding is back on?" he asked, pulling her closer.

"Aaaiiieee!" Naruto yelled, one finger shakily pointing at the pair. "Kakashi-sensei pulled down his mask but we still didn't see his face!" The boy seemed to wilt at that. All the trouble they had gone through to see what lay underneath and it was right in front of their eyes but they still couldn't see!

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered, striking the blonde on the back of the head. "Kakashi-sensei kisses a strange woman and all you can think about is his mask?" He scoffed at the once-more growling jinchuuriki. Sometimes he wondered if there was anything between his teammate's ears at all.

Kagome rolled her eyes, grabbing the hand that was making its way towards her curved backside. With a move barely registered by the genin, the young woman flipped Kakashi over her hip. The Hatake landed roughly on his back. She had his arm wrenched backwards before he could regain his senses, one foot on his shoulder for leverage. Her blue eyes glinted, steeled in their resolve. The chill in them lent strength to her next words and sent shivers down the students' spines.

"No." Kakashi could tell that this no wasn't a "maybe" or a "we'll see." It was a definite no.

"But…you kissed him?" Sakura hated the way that sounded more like a question than a statement of fact.

Kagome smirked, lazily eyeing the rag-tag group. "A kiss between old friends is a different story than the romantic one in your head, Pinky."

Sakura bristled at the hated nickname. Naruto shied away and Sasuke merely arched a brow when the young kunoichi exploded.

"Just who the hell do you think you are? Waltzing in like you own the whole damn place!" She stalked forward, hands fingering her weapons pouch. This woman would pay! She'd had it up to here and was fed up with all the mysterious-ness, Sasuke-bashing and insulting her!

The young woman smirked at the "threatening" posture the girl took. "Aaw," she cooed a bit mockingly. "You're a copy-cat of me when I was younger! All heart and no head." Kagome _tisked_ and shook her hair a bit. She flicked her wrist without a second thought, extending a whip of light in Sakura's direction. The girl didn't know what hit her when she was suddenly deprived of the kunai in her hand and the pouch on her belt. The next thing she knew, she was face-up beside Kakashi who could only grin stupidly in her direction.

A quick glance up told her why. She squealed and closed her eyes tight, proceeding to carry on about manners, propriety and how "real kunoichi wear shorts."

Kagome just laughed aloud. "I would have but I figured the best way to keep Kakashi under control would be to slip him the pill while kissing him then give him a view up my skirt. He'll be too busy fantasizing for the rest of the day to interfere with my plans."

Naruto's eyes were the size of dinner plates and he blurted out his question before he could even think on it. "Pill? What kind of pill did you give him, Kagome-babaa?" The loud-mouthed blonde recoiled at the look of pure evil in those formerly-pretty blue eyes. "I m-mean 'Kagome-nee-chan'." He shuddered at her sudden mood swing.

"Just your typical hallucinogenic," she chuckled. The young woman dropped the Hatake's arm and leisurely strolled towards the two remaining boys. Sasuke panicked and quickly disappeared, leaving Naruto on his own.

The boy gulped when the scary-lady crouched in front of him. he winced when she reached out, only to be very confused when she simply ruffled his hair affectionately. His blue eyes peered through squinted lids when he heard her laugh softly. The jinchuuriki tried to back-peddle away from her touch when she traced his hidden seal but was stopped when she clamped an iron-grip around his arm.

"Hold still," Kagome chided. "I'm not going to hurt you." She frowned a little before standing. The kunoichi literally bent over backwards, stretching out her spine and giving her an overall loose feeling when she heard her back pop a few times. With a relieved sigh, she straightened and smiled down at the blonde.

"So, since Mr. Moody ditched you, Sakura's annoying and Kakashi-kun is out of service, how about I treat you to Ichiraku ramen before I leave today?" She laughed at his sudden over-flowing enthusiasm. The young woman let herself be forcibly dragged by the boy through the village and to his favorite stand.

In between mouthfuls, she slowly pulled information from the boy. How old he was, where he lived, how long he had been working with Kakashi-sensei and so on. Eventually, it dawned on Naruto that he had told her everything about himself but she had yet to say a word about what she was doing here.

"Ne, Kagome-chan," he started slowly, slurping up a mouthful of noodles and chewing before continuing, "what _are_ you doing here?"

Kagome gave a shit-eating grin and winked at the boy. "To tell you the truth, I came to teach a couple old friends some lessons. Want to help?" If Kagome knew kitsune—and she knew kitsune—she had a feeling this boy would be more-than-eager to help her play tricks on the older ninja.

"Yeah yeah!" he crowed eagerly, bouncing in his seat. "I'd love to! What are we gonna do? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

The young woman just grinned again, leaning in to whisper her idea in Naruto's ear.

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><p>And done with this one! Yes, I am setting up a lot of these to be multi-pieces. I'm just good like that. ;) I really had no idea where I was going with this. I just bought a fifty-cent notebook at work and started writing because I was bored. Lol Hope y'all liked it. Again, I got bribed. And I've been offered pancakes for one of two particular pairings. Promise I'll do one of them next.<p>

Please, I love you all, but you must realize this more-than-one-updates-per-week thing won't last. Again, I'm moving next weekend and have to get all that taken care of before anything else. Next on the list is work then classes then fun stuff like fanfiction and hanging out with friends and not scaring my roommates with my loud cackling at funny stories. Lol So, I will continue to write, because that is what I do, and if you continue to lavish reviews on me I will treat them as fuel to update!

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><p><em>Kagome sighed, dangling her feet off the little bridge and letting her toes just barely dip in the cool stream below. She was supposed to meet him here a half hour ago! Where could he be? Yes, they had a huge fight the night before but she doubted he'd be bull-headed enough not to see her before he left on this mission. Would he?<em>

_She grumbled under her breath, resting her chin on the railing of the bridge. "Stupid men," she muttered._

"_Hey," rumbled a rather-subdued voice from behind her. The young woman looked up into her best-friends and lover's dark eyes. Today, under a sunless, grey-sky, they looked softer than usual. Maybe that was just her wishful thinking._


	4. Addiction

Oh, right, disclaimer! I do not own or make any profit from Naruto or InuYasha or their respective characters. They are merely outlets for my over-creative mind. All credit goes to their respective creators.

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

Addiction: She was like his cigarettes, too damn addicting to put down.

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><p>Kagome sighed, dangling her feet off the little bridge and letting her toes just barely dip in the cool stream below. She was supposed to meet him here a half hour ago! Where could he be? Yes, they had a huge fight the night before but she doubted he'd be bull-headed enough not to see her before he left on this mission. Would he?<p>

She grumbled under her breath, resting her chin on the railing of the bridge. "Stupid men," she muttered.

"Hey," rumbled a rather-subdued voice from behind her. The young woman looked up into her best-friend's and lover's dark eyes. Today, under a sunless, grey-sky, they looked softer than usual. Maybe that was just her wishful thinking.

"Hey yourself." She turned back to watch the slow, steady flow of the creek below. If he wanted to talk, he could start the conversation. She had said her piece last night.

Asuma cursed under his breath before crouching down next to his civilian girlfriend. "I'm sorry." There, he said it. What she had tried to get out of him all night last night. Shouldn't she be happy? Then why wasn't she saying anything? He took a long drag off his cigarette, letting the tobacco calm his nerves. When she still didn't speak, he glanced at the clock tower. He didn't have time to play the gentleman right now. He was supposed to be at the gates in half-an-hour to start his mission.

The jounin set down his cigarette, picked Kagome up off the bridge and kissed her. For a moment, she resisted him. But that didn't last long. She quickly melted into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and returning the kiss with fervor. The young woman felt his large, rough hands slide down her body. They cupped her rear, scooping her up and pressing her against the rail. His hungry mouth slid over hers, teeth nipping at her bottom lips, tongue taking advantage of the ensuing gasp to tangle with her own.

After several more stolen kisses, they parted for air. Kagome smiled a bit and rested her head against Asuma's broad shoulder. A low, rumbling laughter shook her and Kagome had to chuckle as well. The man that held her slowly set her down before leaning down and stealing another kiss.

The black-haired girl smiled when they separated. "If this is a preview of our make-up night, I can't wait for you to get back."

The jounin smirked. "I'll be back before you know it." With that, he kissed her one last time and disappeared. After all, the sooner he finished this mission, the sooner he could get back.

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><p>One page! Just one page! Hahahaha! I'm so good. Yes I am. Lol I have never worked with Asuma before, so I hope I did him justice. Let me know what you think! I just squeezed this off before getting ready to go out of town for the day.<p>

Now then, what I know you all like. Here's a preview for next time!

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><p><em>Kagome's eye twitched. She was going to kill him! It was like he had a stick up his ass or something. "Oooh, big bad boy with a big bad family," she mocked under her breath. The stupid boy-who-wasn't-a-man had really ticked her off this time.<em>

"_Kagome." She spun on the heel at the sound of her name, too caught up in her anger to try and figure out whose chakra signature had snuck up on her. The pair's eyes connected and Kagome had to make herself not stare. His eyes always tripped her out, no matter how often she saw them._


	5. Eye Spy

Oh, right, disclaimer! I do not own or make any profit from Naruto or InuYasha or their respective characters. They are merely outlets for my over-creative mind. All credit goes to their respective creators.

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

Eye Spy: She There's two clans in Konoha with kekkei genkai that deal with their eyes. Both want Kagome.

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><p>Kagome's eye twitched. She was going to kill him! It was like he had a stick up his ass or something. "Oooh, big bad boy with a big bad family," she mocked under her breath. The stupid boy-who-wasn't-a-man had really ticked her off this time.<p>

"Kagome." She spun on the heel at the sound of her name, too caught up in her anger to try and figure out whose chakra signature had snuck up on her. The pair's eyes connected and Kagome had to make herself not stare. His eyes always tripped her out, no matter how often she saw them.

Neiji Hyuuga smirked just a bit—a slight upward curl of one side of his mouth—as he watched the feisty kunoichi stare up at him. He rather enjoyed the way her head only came up to his shoulder and the way her chest heaved in her anger. If he stood close enough, it would just brush his vest. He relished in the power it gave him over the smaller woman.

"You are formally invited to supper with the Hyuuga clan on Friday. Dress is black-tie and the first course will be served promptly at seven. Be at least an hour early for visits in the grand hall."

The young woman blinked, her blue eyes just staring into his blank ones. What the hell? She didn't even own anything remotely black-tie! Which wasn't a problem, she mused, since she had absolutely no intentions of attending. She had other plans that night. Plans that didn't involve the ultra-stuffy Hyuuga.

"No. If you want a strong female to _breed with_," she sneered out the last two words, "go fuck Ten-ten." With that, she spun back around on her heel and quickly left a speechless-for-once Neiji in her wake. Oh how she enjoyed the moments when she could stun stupid not-men silent. Like earlier… As her mind proceeded off on a tangent, she was once again harassed by another not-man.

"Kagome." With a grumbled curse, she turned around to face her latest "suitor." He stood at least a half head taller than her. The crown of her own dark head just fit under his chin. She eyed him up and down, noticing that his Sharingan was currently deactivated. The faint lines that had begun to appear underneath his eyes, though, told that he had just come from a healing session with either Tsunade, Sakura or Shizune because those eyes hadn't been turned off long.

"What do you want?" she snapped. Okay, she probably could have been nicer, but that only led to him hanging around her more often—sucking up all her personal-bubble-air!

"Have dinner with me on Friday." It wasn't a request, she knew. Still, that didn't mean she had to obey. The blue-eyed kunoichi was fiercely independent and wanted absolutely nothing from stick-up-their-ass clan-boys. She had no ties to anyone and she preferred it to stay that way. That didn't mean, though, that she wasn't above manipulation and half-truths.

"Sorry," her tone was overly-sweet and anyone who knew her well enough would know that she wasn't sorry. "Neiji already invited me to supper on Friday. It sounded like it was going to be a nice party, too." She batted her eyelashes and smiled just a bit. "Perhaps another time." As she began to leave, her progress was abruptly halted when the Uchiha brat grabbed her arm.

"Have dinner with _me,_" he said again. The implication in his voice told Kagome that he was willing to do many things in order to get his desired response.

The wheels turned in Kagome's mind and she began to use that whit of hers that she hadn't needed in a little while. "I'll tell you what. Since both you and Neiji have invited me to dinner—and on the same night no less—how about a duel? You and Neiji fight it out and to the victor go the spoils."

Sasuke eyed her warily, trying to see if she was telling the truth. "So when I win, you'll have dinner with me instead of him?"

Kagome arched a brow and feigned innocence. "What did I say, hm? I promise to abide by my word."

The youngest Uchiha smirked just a bit before disappearing in a puff of smoke—presumably to go fight Neiji. Once she was sure he was gone, the kunoichi laughed outright with a tad of insanity. Oh boys were so easy to manipulate when they wanted something bad enough! Even two "prodigies" and "genius" like Sasuke and Neiji.

Without another thought, Kagome passed through the gates of Konoha, waving idly to the two guards. They nodded back before resuming their card game. She slipped through the trees, jumping from branch to branch without any effort. Her destination lay not too far ahead of her, about five or so miles outside of Konoha's gates. She landed in front of a pile of rubble, glancing around before releasing the genjutsu on it. The kunoichi entered a rather simple house, closing the door behind her to reset the concealing jutsu.

Strong arms wrapped around her shoulders, warm breath fanning over her ear when she passed into the hall.

"Have you come to admit you were wrong?" the voice said, his hand sliding lower across her body. The calluses occasionally caught on her clothing but did little else. One hand gripped her thigh, the other spread across her waist as their owner pulled the young woman flush against his chest.

Kagome grumbled but let her head drop against his shoulder. "Yes, I was wrong. Both your stupid brother and the Hyuuga brat want to bed—and maybe wed—me. Happy?" Her blue eyes met his deep onyx and she traced the crows' feet that appeared way too early on her husband.

"Hn." Uchiha Itachi nipped lightly at her neck, laying open-mouthed kisses along her skin.

The raven-haired woman rolled her eyes. That "hn," she could tell, meant that he was pleased to be right but displeased that others were trying to take what was his. "Look at it this way," she pointed out. "It just means that you obviously made a great catch."

The S-class missing-nin huffed lightly. "I do not need their opinions to know that I chose well."

Kagome laughed again as she was quickly picked up and "escorted" to their bedroom. _Uchihas,_ _such over-confidence!_

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><p>Okay! Chapter five is out! Right on time, too. :D I feels so accomplished…but that might be the Smirnoff Ice talking. xD My past week has been sooo stressful. Moving, paying start-up bills, charges appearing on my card that I didn't authorize, my card being frozen… Yeah, you name it and it may have happened to me this week. I'm not a happy camper at the moment but I'll get over it. Tomorrow I can sleep in! Yus. :3<p>

So here was another Itachi/Kagome because I don't really care for Sasuke (he's a brat) and Neiji just generally annoys me (too much like Sasuke). Did you catch my pun up top? Heh? Heh? If you didn't I certainly hope you do now. Okiday, I guess I'll give you a preview of next week's installment…or not. First, I'm going to continue one of the previous chapters I left "unfinished." So tell me which one you want continued! I'll put a poll up on my profile for it. The poll will be open until Thursday (8/25). I'll close it Thursday and write Thursday/Friday and hopefully update on Saturday. That may just become my routine depending on my work schedule...

Until then, toodles~


	6. Jiggety Jig

Oh, right, disclaimer! I do not own or make any profit from Naruto or InuYasha or their respective characters. They are merely outlets for my over-creative mind. All credit goes to their respective creators.

Chapter 6

Jiggety Jig: He can breathe, but he can't truly see his healer...yet.

The first thing Itachi realized when he woke up was that he could breathe. Granted, there was a weight _on_ his chest that prevented him from fully testing his apparently-healed lungs, but there was a distinct absence of choking _in_ his chest. His arms sluggishly moved, trying to dislodge whatever had him pinned. Obviously it wasn't some other shinobi because he could sense his chakra. It was slowly rebuilding but it was entirely accessible. His hands weren't bound and the prodigy could tell he was in the open air-even if his eyes were still closed.

The first thing Kagome realized when she woke up was that she was extremely sore. Her legs ached from running, her palms from diving, her back from the killer-frisbees, flying-knives and giant fireballs. She was also still very tired. The young priestess had used a lot of her spiritual gifts to heal the young man before she, too, collapsed. She felt the steady, uninhibited rise-and-fall of the chest beneath her and heard the sound of his clear breathing. She also heard a small groan and began to realize her patient was waking up. Strong, calloused hands clamped around her upper arms in a vice-like-grip.

Itachi sat up, dragging whoever was on his chest with him. He still hadn't opened his eyes, preferring to let them slowly adjust to the bright sunshine. The S-class missing-nin stifled a groan as he straightened and finally opened his eyes. His vision may have been near-blind, but he could still see many things up close. Thus Itachi highly doubted the small woman in front of him with smooth hands and an open-book visage could be any sort of enemy. Blue eyes greeted him from a tanned-but-young face and black hair surrounded her small, pert nose and naturally-full lips.

Kagome was half-dragged into the young man's lap and sat still throughout his entire inspection, silently doing one of her own. She smiled just a bit as her eyes connected with his onyx one, analyzing the lines beneath them and crows' feet at the edges. His hands were rough but not in a cruel way. She had a feeling that was just how they had become through years of hard work. The black cloak intrigued her, the red clouds a pattern she had never seen before. Their eyes connected again and she smiled.

"I'm Kagome. Do you live here? I didn't mean to disturb anyone. I was trying to use the Bone-Eater's well like always and ended up here somehow. Where is this anyway?"

Itachi just blinked as the woman-Kagome apparently-talked a mile-a-minute. She seemed to ramble slightly, veering off on wide, circular rabbit trails about people he didn't know before coming back to her original point. He wondered just how he was going to get her to shut-up without being overly rude. What she said next, though, startled him.

"How is your breathing? It was horrible when you collapsed earlier. It sounded like you were gargling in your lungs!" She shook her head, amazed at him. "I can't believe you were still alive! That was a bad...whatever it was and took practically all of my energy to get rid of. Did you go play in the rain a lot and never warm up afterwards as a child? That's horrible for your health, you know."

The young man covered Kagome's mouth with his hand, watching her through narrowed, hazy eyes. "_You_ healed my lungs?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't look so offended." Her words were slightly muffled by his hand as the priestess issued an inelegant snort. "Of course I healed them. You sounded like you were about to die so I did what I could." She fidgeted slightly. "I haven't had the chance to heal your eyes, yet, though. I'm sorry. I ran out of energy before I could get to them. I'm better now. If you want I could-"

"Why?" Itachi snapped. He cursed when the young woman seemed to wilt in his hold. He hadn't meant to sound so rough but this curiosity was nagging at him and these thoughts wouldn't leave him alone. Why _was_ she doing this? He didn't know her and it was fairly obvious she wasn't some sort of shinobi trying to capture him. So _why? _To him, the young man who had grown up in the world of never doing something that gained you nothing, it made no sense to heal someone you didn't know just because they might be dieing.

Kagome looked at him with sad, blue eyes. It was almost as if she could see into his soul. It was far from pure but just as far from tainted. The man before her had seen life's tragedies and lived through them, just as she had. Something, though, told her he had seen and done far more than her. His expression was so guarded she had to wonder if he would let anyone in his heart at all.

"Because it was the right thing to do," she insisted after a moment. "You were nearly to the point of not being able to breathe. And I can tell that you _still_ can't see." There was silence as he removed his hand and just watched her.

Her voice came quiet, timid in the still afternoon air. "I could heal them for you, if you want."

Itachi's eyes never left her face as he debated on letting her near his prized weapon. _Although it is a weapon that is starting to loose it's honed edge. _He took a deep breath and realized that his lungs were still clear. Whatever she had done was lasting. At that moment, he heard a sound he knew would come eventually-the sound of shinobi arriving to investigate the disturbances earlier in the afternoon.

Now the young heir had to make an entirely different decision. Take the girl-healer with him or leave her here to distract the leaf-nin while he made his escape? If he took her with him, he would need to use chakra to transport them out of the village walls before he ran back to his cave. If he left her as a distraction, he could just run and only use a bare minimum of chakra to keep his balance in the trees. After a brief second, he decided to keep her. If she was really willing to heal his eyes she could become _very_ useful.

Kagome squeaked when the young man whose lap she currently occupied abruptly brought his arms up around her with a gruff "Hold on" and began to make some very strange hand signs. The priestess-used to situations where she wasn't really in control and didn't know what was going on-simply did as told and grasped ahold of his cloak as they suddenly disappeared in a _poof_ of smoke. They reappeared on the outside of the big wall she had briefly seen before being attacked by fireballs, frisbees and knives. Thick, old growth and trees surrounded them.

Itachi lowered the priestess to her own feet before taking a knee in front of her. "Get on," was his next command.

She eyed him and was suddenly struck by how much she missed her friends. _It hasn't even been a full day and I miss them already._ With a sniffle, she climbed aboard, burying her face in the man's back as he stood and began to fly through the trees.

"What's your name?" she asked after a while, tired of the silence between them.

"Itachi." His red eyes glanced over his shoulder before continuing to look ahead, making sure no traps were set for them.

***Swing Shift***

Hehehe...I know, I left a bit of a cliffy again but these two are just being so stubborn! So more of these two will be in the future. Sorry about missing a week. College hit, work did too and I had sooo much to do that first week! Homework, work, hanging with friends...you get the picture. ;)


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